Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc have both been disqualified from the Chinese Grand Prix in a disastrous blow for Ferrari in the second race of the 2025 F1 season.
The cars of both drivers failed post-race checks, with Hamilton’s skid block found to be below the minimum thickness, while Leclerc’s car was found to be underweight.
Alpine’s Pierre Gasly has also been disqualified for an underweight car.
It means Hamilton and Leclerc’s points for their sixth and fifth place finish respectively – eight and 10 – are wiped from their championship tally. The disqualification does not impact Hamilton’s sprint race victory on Saturday, for which he secured eight points, but it marks a calamitous end to the Shanghai weekend for Ferrari and their team boss Fred Vasseur.
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F1 CHINESE GRAND PRIX - LATEST UPDATES
- BREAKING: Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc disqualified post-race
- COMMENT: Lewis Hamilton’s shock disqualification tells us one thing: Ferrari have hit rock bottom
- Alpine's Pierre Gasly also disqualified
- Click HERE for full F1 driver standings after the DSQs
- Oscar Piastri wins Chinese GP; Norris 2nd; Rusell 3rd
Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc disqualified
11:37
,
Kieran Jackson
Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc have both been disqualified from the Chinese Grand Prix in a disastrous blow for Ferrari.
The cars of both drivers failed post-race checks, with Hamilton’s skid block found to be below the minimum thickness, while Leclerc’s car was found to be underweight.
Alpine’s Pierre Gasly has also been disqualified for an underweight car.
It means Hamilton and Leclerc’s points for their sixth and fifth place finish respectively – eight and 10 – are wiped from their championship tally.
The disqualification does not impact Hamilton’s sprint race victory on Saturday, for which he secured eight points.
FERRARI STATEMENT ON DSQs
13:14
,
Kieran Jackson
“Following the FIA post-race scrutineering both our cars were found not to conform to the regulations for different reasons.
“Car 16 was found to be underweight by 1 kg and car 44’s rearward skid wear was found to be 0.5mm below the limit.
“Charles was on a one-stop strategy today and this meant his tyre wear was very high, causing the car to be underweight.
“With regard to Lewis’ skid wear, we misjudged the consumption by a small margin.
“There was no intention to gain any advantage. We will learn from what happened today and make sure we don’t make the same mistakes again.
“Clearly it’s not the way we wanted to end our Chinese GP weekend, neither for ourselves, nor for our fans whose support for us is unwavering.”
Liam Lawson painfully honest after torrid start to Red Bull F1 career: ‘It’s just not good enough’
19:01
Liam Lawson did not make any excuses as he reflected on a torrid start to his Red Bull F1 career at the Chinese Grand Prix.
The Kiwi driver, promoted to be Max Verstappen’s teammate this year as he replaced Sergio Perez, crashed out of the season-opening Australian Grand Prix in wet conditions last week
Yet this weekend in Shanghai has been even worse, so far. Lawson qualified dead last for the sprint race on Saturday – though moved up to finish 14th – but did not improve his one-lap pace in grand prix qualifying, finishing last once more.
Full quotes below:
F1 driver standings after the three DSQs
18:00
,
Kieran Jackson
1. Lando Norris – 44 points
2. Max Verstappen – 36 points
3. George Russell – 35 points
4. Oscar Piastri – 34 points
5. Kimi Antonelli – 22 points
6. Alex Albon – 16 points
7. Esteban Ocon – 10 points
8. Lance Stroll – 10 points
9. Lewis Hamilton – 9 points
10. Charles Leclerc – 8 points
11. Nico Hulkenberg – 6 points
12. Yuki Tsunoda – 3 points
13. Ollie Bearman – 1 point
14. Carlos Sainz – 1 point
15. Pierre Gasly – 0 points
16. Isack Hadjar – 0 points
17. Jack Doohan – 0 points
18. Gabriel Bortoleto – 0 points
19. Yuki Tsunoda – 0 points
20. Fernando Alonso – 0 points
Charles Leclerc, speaking prior to DSQ:
16:30
,
Kieran Jackson
On lap 1 clash with Hamilton: “Honestly, it’s not Lewis’s fault at all - I was around the inside trying to position the car for turn 3, Lewis didn’t know I was there - I didn’t think Lewis would come back to the apex.
“It’s a racing incident, it’s not the first or last time it will happen. Shame it happened between the two red cars.
“We didn’t want to take the eight seconds to change the wing, didn’t want to take that risk. I wanted to maximise the result, I think we did well.”
VIDEO: Liam Lawson reacts after another tough weekend for Red Bull
15:50
,
Kieran Jackson
Will Red Bull give Liam the time he needs? pic.twitter.com/WVDAiOarWJ
— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) March 23, 2025
COMMENT: Lewis Hamilton’s shock disqualification tells us one thing: Ferrari have hit rock bottom
14:53
,
Kieran Jackson
Twenty-four hours is a long time in Formula One. Just on Saturday, Lewis Hamilton was riding high, optimism radiating, after his first taste of victory in the famous Ferrari red, albeit in the shorter sprint format.
By Sunday night, long after dusk fell in Shanghai, the Briton and his beleaguered team had hit rock bottom.
Full piece below:
A final points summary in China:
14:45
,
Kieran Jackson
The final points/placings from Shanghai after those three DSQs #F1 #ChineseGP pic.twitter.com/Yfin5Xx4DK
— Formula 1 (@F1) March 23, 2025
Ollie Bearman after finishing 8th:
14:15
,
Kieran Jackson
“Super happy, we did a great job – good execution on everything. I wasn’t expecting to do a one-stop, but the tyres lasted much better and we did a great job with setup changes. The car was so good today.
“This track suits what we have, on paper it’s good for our car. Very smooth, not many bumps, it is partly due to the track.”
Liam Lawson, after finishing 12th:
13:30
,
Kieran Jackson
“ We tried to do something aggressive today, that’s why we started from the pit-lane. We learned something but it just didn’t work today.
On being under pressure already at Red Bull: “We’re in the season, two races in, racing. You’d love to have 60 test days and I know a lot of the other guys tested a lot, it’s not something we did. It’s one of those things, it’s not an excuse, something I have to get on top of as quickly as I can.”
Pierre Gasly reacts to disqualification:
12:52
,
Kieran Jackson
“It was a tricky race out there today and again, like last week, we finished 11th and just outside of the points.
“Unfortunately, after the race, a technical infringement meant we faced a DSQ.
“In terms of the actual race, though, I think the degradation probably caught most teams out by surprise in the race as it was much lower than expected and the one-stop proved doable.
“We extended our second stint after pitting early and took it to the chequered flag without any reward. In general, it has been a challenging weekend where we have not been as competitive as we would like.”
Lewis Hamilton, after finishing sixth:
12:35
,
Kieran Jackson
Hamilton spoke earlier, prior to news of his DSQ:
On two-stop strategy: “I’m glad that we tried something, I was struggling with performance.
“Ultimately we had a pretty decent car in the sprint, we made some changes and made it worse. Lots to learn, the pit stop is too long here and they were still going fast at the end, Verstappen was doing the same times as me and I had fresher tyres, it wasn’t great.”
On changes post-sprint: “We made it quite a bit worse, I hadn’t tested it, we both went that way and it was bad.
“I know not to do that again.”
An unwanted Hamilton fact...
12:22
,
Kieran Jackson
Lewis Hamilton has become the first driver in F1 history to secure a win and also be disqualified in the same race weekend!
This, of course, follows his sprint race victory on Saturday - which still stands.
FIA STATEMENT:
12:10
,
Kieran Jackson
On Hamilton’s DSQ, an FIA statement read:
“The plank assembly of Car 44 [Hamilton] was measured and found to be 8.6mm (LHS), 8.6mm (car centerline) and 8.5mm (RHS). This is below the minimum thickness of 9mm specified under Article 3.5.9 of the Technical Regulations.
“During the hearing, the team representative confirmed that the measurement is correct and that all required procedures were performed correctly. The team also acknowledged that there were no mitigating circumstances and that it was a genuine error by the team.
“The Stewards determine that Article 3.5.9 of the FIA Formula 1 Technical Regulations has been breached and therefore the standard penalty of a disqualification needs to be applied for such an infringement.”
CONFIRMED: Lewis Hamilton disqualified from the Chinese Grand Prix
11:32
Hamilton’s DSQ is also now confirmed by the FIA.
This is due to excessive plank wear on his Ferrari car.
Wow.
CONFIRMED: Charles Leclerc is disqualified from the Chinese Grand Prix
11:26
Leclerc’s DSQ is confirmed. Pierre Gasly’s is also confirmed.
Both for underweight cars!
We await news on Lewis Hamilton’s DSQ...
UPDATE: Ferrari have seen stewards
11:10
Ferrari have already seen the stewards about Leclerc’s issue, with Alpine now in the room for Gasly.
Ferrari will be back in the room in 15 minutes for Hamilton...
BREAKING: LEWIS HAMILTON AT RISK TOO
11:06
,
Kieran Jackson
Excessive skid wear to blame, as his rearmost skids have been measured below the 9mm minimum thickness limit post-race.
Could be a double Ferrari DSQ!
Oh gosh...
BREAKING: Charles Leclerc and Pierre Gasly at risk of disqualification
10:57
,
Kieran Jackson
Leclerc (P5) and Gasly's (P11) cars have both been found to be underweight in post-race scrutineering.
It could mean Lance Stroll, in 12th, could be promoted to the points.
More as we get it...
RACE REPORT: Oscar Piastri wins Chinese Grand Prix as Lewis Hamilton struggles for Ferrari
10:22
,
Kieran Jackson
Oscar Piastri beat Lando Norris to win the Chinese Grand Prix as a struggling Lewis Hamilton moved aside for Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc.
Piastri led virtually every lap at the Shanghai International Circuit, with Norris following his team-mate home as McLaren underlined their impressive speed by executing a one-two finish.
Mercedes' George Russell was third ahead of Red Bull's Max Verstappen, who passed Leclerc with three laps remaining. Hamilton crossed the line a distant sixth.
FULL REPORT BELOW:
Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur:
10:07
,
Kieran Jackson
“Very strange, one side of the garage OK. We can take the positive with Charles.
“I don’t want to blame something, we have to do a better job. The tyres are on the edge.
On Lewis’s second stop: “The deg at one stage was important, if everyone pitted it would’ve made sense.”
Charles Leclerc after finishing P5:
09:54
On lap 1 clash with Hamilton: “Honestly, it’s not Lewis’s fault at all - I was around the inside trying to position the car for turn 3, Lewis didn’t know I was there - I didn’t think Lewis would come back to the apex.
“It’s a racing incident, it’s not the first of last time it will happen. Shame it happened between the two red cars.
“We didn’t want to take the eight seconds to change the wing, didn’t want to take that risk. I wanted to maximise the result, I think we did well.”
Time for the podium!
09:26
,
Kieran Jackson
It’s the Australian and British national anthems on the podium in China as Oscar Piastri celebrates his victory for McLaren!
And that’s Piastri’s 28th consecutive points-finish too... some record! He’s in his title fight!
Oscar Piastri on his China GP win:
08:58
,
Kieran Jackson
“It’s been an incredible weekend, the car has been pretty mega – today was a bit of a surprise with the tyres, proud of the whole weekend. This is what I feel like I deserved form last week, team did a mega job, one-two.
“To go all the way to the end was a surprise, but a happy surprise.
“There’s a few too many Lewis Hamilton fans but we’ll convert you next year!”
Lando Norris on team radio:
08:52
,
Kieran Jackson
“Yeah well done boys, beautiful one-two!”
George Russell after finishing P3:
08:49
,
Kieran Jackson
“It’s a great result finishing P3… great race, we knew McLaren were a smidge quicker than us, few crucial points.
“I felt from early on that a one-stop was possible, easier than we all anticipated – probably one of my best results in Formula 1 in terms of overall performance, pleased to be on the podium.
“It was a bit dicey with Lando but from there, straightforward race.”
"Probably one of my best weekends in Formula 1"
— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) March 23, 2025
George Russell reflects on a strong weekend pic.twitter.com/zIjddlFWzg
Lando Norris on his 2nd place:
09:09
,
Kieran Jackson
“A few fun moments – the start I was hoping for that but then George got me on the pit stops, but our pace was a lot better on the second stint. Oscar drove well, he was quick the whole race.
“I’m happy with second, it’s good points, one-two for the team. We’re very happy.
On brake issue: “It was scary, my worst nightmare! I was losing two, three four seconds, bit scared but we survived. Satisfied, great result!”
TOP-10 IN CHINESE GP
08:42
,
Kieran Jackson
1. Oscar Piastri
2. Lando Norris
3. George Russell
4. Max Verstappen
5. Charles Leclerc
6. Lewis Hamilton
7. Esteban Ocon
8. Kimi Antonelli
9. Alex Albon
10. Ollie Bearman
Oscar Piastri wins the Chinese Grand Prix!
08:35
,
Kieran Jackson
A third grand prix win in F1 for Oscar Piastri, who takes a superb victory in Shanghai!
Lando Norris just about brings his car home despite his brake issue, as McLaren claim a one-two!
George Russell on the podium again for third place!
4-10: Verstappen, Leclerc, Hamilton, Ocon, Antonelli, Albon, Bearman
Lando Norris brake issue critical (Lap 55/56)
08:33
,
Kieran Jackson
Two laps left and Norris is being told to bring his car home, given a major issue with his brakes!
Still, it’s looking good for McLaren...
Max Verstappen passes Charles Leclerc (Lap 53/56)
08:30
,
Kieran Jackson
Brilliant battle!
Verstappen has super pace suddenly and takes fourth place around the outside of turn 1, despite Leclerc’s best efforts for over a lap!
Verstappen P4!
Norris has a brake issue (Lap 52/56)
08:28
A lot of communications between Norris and his engineer Will Joseph over his brake pedal.
There’s an issue, but it should be manageable...
TOP-10 WITH 8 LAPS TO GO (Lap 48/56)
08:23
,
Kieran Jackson
1. Piastri
2. Norris
3. Russell
4. Leclerc
5. Verstappen
6. Hamilton
7. Ocon
8. Antonelli
9. Albon
10. Bearman
All those positions hae leads over two seconds...
Charles Leclerc on team radio (Lap 45/56)
08:17
,
Kieran Jackson
Leclerc’s engineer: “We’re losing time in turn 2, try not using the kerb.”
Leclerc: “Nope.”
Oscar Piastri has a five-second lead (Lap 44/56)
08:17
No sign of the tyres waning away yet... but there’s still time!
Piastri has a five-second lead, with Norris 4.6 seconds clear of Russell.
4-10: Leclerc, Verstappen, Hamilton, Ocon, Antonelli, Albon, Bearman
Looking like a hell of a race for Haas here, with two cars in the top-10 at the moment!
Ollie Bearman moves up to 10th! (Lap 41/56)
08:11
,
Kieran Jackson
Celebrations in the Haas garage as Bearman makes an impressive move on Gasly to move up to 10th - and a points-scoring position!
After a horror show in Australia, Bearman looks back down to business in China!
Oscar Piastri eyeing one-stop (Lap 40/56)
08:08
,
Kieran Jackson
Piastri’s engineer: “How’s the tyre looking, plan A?”
Piastri: “I think we can go to the end.”
There we go then!
Lando Norris:
08:07
,
Kieran Jackson
Norris: “I see the first bit of graining, but we’re OK for now.”
Lewis Hamilton pits (Lap 38/56)
08:06
,
Kieran Jackson
Hamilton pits - 2.3 seconds - and comes out in sixth!
OK, so Hamilton the first frontrunner to pit... but it seems possible that most of them will stay out for a one-stop!
Piastri’s lead out in front to Norris is now 2.4 seconds. Will they be allowed to race?
Rain on the cards?! (Lap 35/56)
08:02
,
Kieran Jackson
Norris’s engineer: “Low risk of rain in 3 laps!”
I thought we were getting a dry race! Will the rain shake things up? It’s very dark in Shanghai now...
TOP-10 AFTER 34 LAPS
08:01
,
Kieran Jackson
1. Oscar Piastri
2. Lando Norris
3. George Russell
4. Charles Leclerc
5. Lewis Hamilton
6. Max Verstappen
7. Lance Stroll
8. Yuki Tsunoda
9. Esteban Ocon
10. Kimi Antonelli
When will second pit stops occur? (Lap 32/56)
08:00
Race in a bit of a lull now, as we wait for the second pit stops!
When will be the optimum time?
Russell has been told he may go to the end with a one-stop!
Oscar Piastri has a four-second lead (Lap 26/56)
07:48
,
Kieran Jackson
Piastri will be very satisfied with his work so far - he has a four-second lead to Lando Norris!
George Russell is two seconds further back, while Charles Leclerc is closing in on the Mercedes - 0.8 seconds the gap!
5-10: Hamilton, Verstappen, Stroll, Bearman, Tsunoda, Ocon
Lewis Hamilton... (Lap 24/56)
07:44
,
Kieran Jackson
Hamilton: “Give me some feedback, I need some feedback.”
Engineer: “Turn 13 can improve.”
Hamilton: “Yep, you told me that already.”
Like last week, fascinating communications between Hamilton and Riccardo Adami!
TOP-10 AFTER 23 LAPS
07:42
,
Kieran Jackson
1. Oscar Piastri
2. Lando Norris
3. George Russell
4. Charles Leclerc
5. Lewis Hamilton
6. Max Verstappen
7. Lance Stroll (no stop)
8. Ollie Bearman (no stop)
9. Yuki Tsunoda
10. Esteban Ocon
Kimi Antonelli has dropped to 11th...
Hamilton and Leclerc swap! (Lap 21/56)
07:39
,
Kieran Jackson
Hamilton: “I’ll decide where we swap.”
And indeed he does - at turn 1!
Leclerc moves up to fourth! So Hamilton listens to his team, swaps the position, but does it on his terms!
Perfect compromise...
Lewis Hamilton resists Ferrari order (Lap 20/56)
07:37
Hamilton’s engineer: “We are swapping cars at turn 14.”
Hamilton: “When he’s closer, yes.”
The Ferrari pair in fifth and sixth, but Leclerc has superior speed in the latter position.
Hamilton: “Right now, I’m closing up.”
Piastri retakes lead! (Lap 18/56)
07:34
,
Kieran Jackson
More pace, more power, as Piastri cruises past Albon to retake the lead!
And Norris gets the move done on Russell, steamrolling down the inside at turn 1! Great move!
Norris back to net-second in this race!
Russell overtakes Norris! (Lap 16/56)
07:31
,
Kieran Jackson
Norris pits but comes out just behind Russell, who is now net second in the race!
Alex Albon - yet to pit - is now the race leader!
Piastri is second, 1.6 seconds behind Albon.
Leclerc, incidentally, did not change his front wing in his pit stop!
Oscar Piastri pits! (Lap 15/56)
07:29
,
Kieran Jackson
A slow stop for Piastri - 3.6 seconds - and Lando Norris takes over the lead, with Russell also pitting!
How long will Lando leave it to pit?!
George Russell:
07:27
,
Kieran Jackson
“I think it’s going to be one-stop, front left clearing up.”
Interesting! Russell likes going long... we saw that in Belgium last year!
Yet he’s still coming into the pits...
Hamilton and Verstappen pit (Lap 14/56)
07:27
,
Kieran Jackson
Hamilton’s stop: 2.4 seconds.
Verstappen’s stop: 2.2 seconds.
Hamilton comes out in 10th, with Verstappen in 12th. Frontrunners diving into the pits now... let’s see how this works out!
Kimi Antonelli pits - and drops back! (Lap 13/56)
07:26
,
Kieran Jackson
Tsunoda overtakes Antonelli out of the pits, with the RB pitting a lap earlier!
The undercut working well!
Hadjar also pits - but he’s behind the Mercedes!
Pit stops starting to come to fruition then....
Oscar Piastri has a two-second lead (Lap 12/56)
07:24
So far, so good for Piastri and McLaren. He has a two-second lead to his teammate - but it’s all about tyre management now. The graining is a tad slower than expected, I think.
Piastri’s engineer: “Can we make plan c target lap?
Piastri: “I think it might be possible.”
Charles Leclerc on team radio: (Lap 10/56)
07:21
“If it stays like this, I want plan A.”
What is plan A - one or two stops?!
Engineer: “There will be too much traffic, we stick with plan B.”
Oscar Piastri pulls out of DRS! (Lap 8/56)
07:17
,
Kieran Jackson
Is it pure pace or is it an instruction? Either way, Norris has dropped back to a 1.4 second margin to Piastri.
The race just settling down now - Leclerc is the only man within a second of the car in front, which is teammate Hamilton!
When will the pit stops start? Is it a one-stopper or two-stopper?
Norris: “Starting to struggle, left-front!”
Fernando Alonso retires! (Lap 6/56)
07:14
Alonso has pulled into the pits and he becomes the first car to retire from this race due to those issues with the brakes!
Out in front, Piastri’s lead is now 0.8 seconds - so Norris has DRS!
Will McLaren let them race?!
3-10: Russell, Hamilton, Leclerc, Verstappen, Antonelli, Tsunoda, Hadjar, Ocon
Hamilton and Leclerc!
07:10
,
Kieran Jackson
Replays show the Ferraris just grazed each other at the end of the sweeping turn 1, resulting in Leclerc’s front wing damage!
A minor clash; a usual occurrence on lap 1!
Meanwhile, Fernando Alonso has an issue with his brakes - they’re on fire!
Another look at the contact between Ferrari teammates Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton pic.twitter.com/Eb21H7iq8F
— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) March 23, 2025
Oscar Piastri outside of DRS! (Lap 3/56)
07:08
,
Kieran Jackson
Perfect start for McLaren here!
Piastri has a 1.1 second lead to Norris, who is 1.8 seconds clear of Russell!
4-10: Hamilton, Leclerc, Verstappen, Antonelli, Tsunoda, Hadjar, Ocon
Leclerc on his front wing: “We can survive.”
Lights out!
07:06
,
Kieran Jackson
Oscar Piastri gets a poor-ish start but keeps the lead - and Lando Norris swoops around the outside of turn 1 to take second from George Russell!
Lewis Hamilton has taken fourth from Max Verstappen, who is sixth after dropping behind Leclerc too!
“Leclerc has a broken front wing,” says Verstappen. I think he hit Hamilton!
Thrilling start!
OFFICIAL ATTENDANCE
07:03
,
Kieran Jackson
The official attendance for the Chinese Grand Prix is a sold out 220,000 people.